Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Florida Panthers, celebrates the Stanley Cup after their victory over the Edmonton Oilers in the seventh game of the NHL Stanley Cup 2024 on June 24, 2024. The 2025 qualifying series start on Saturday with hopes of a loyal end.
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Washington – The Hockey Stanley Cup qualifiers start on Saturday.
It is a big order to be up to the dramatic of seven games of last year. But the pieces are in place for entertaining playoffs, with suitors to the new winners of the Stanley Cup and generational stars in search of a last trophy to crown their career.
The washer falls in the first round with a pair of matches on Saturday and three others to follow on Sunday. And without New York, no Boston and no Chicago in the mixture, it’s a chance for small markets (-ish) to shine – including the smallest NHL market, Winnipeg, whose jets finished with the best record in the league and head to the playoffs with a seeded.
Here is to watch out:
Washington Capitals
Pre-season expectations were low, weak, weak for Washington’s capital last fall.
In October, Athletics The caps only gave 18% chance of making the playoffs – and less than 1% probability of earning more than 110 points. The Cornerstone franchise Alex Ovechkin was 39 years old and had just published the second lowest season in his career. The only two other remaining parts on the list which won the Stanley Cup in 2018 – the winger Tom Wilson and defender John Carlson – also seemed to have exceeded their prime numbers.
Instead, Washington exploded these water expectations.
Capitals have the best record of the Eastern Conference. Ovechkin has the fourth goals in the league, and his pursuit for career goals for all Gretzky has energized the whole team. Younger players like Dylan Strome, Connor McMichael and Aliaksei Protas have all played the best seasons of their careers.
Alex Ovechkin of Washington Capitals scores a goal against Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday. Upon the season, expectations for capitals were weak. But the team has the best record of the Eastern Conference.
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However, now that the OVI-Gretzky prosecution is over and that the playoffs are close, there are reasons for concern. The traffic jams fell. The injuries and perhaps a post-action energy comedy have contributed to defeats during eight of their last 12 games.
“Is it like, did this prosecution shoot too much from them, or has it increased his game to another level and he patiently waits patiently patiently to start playing the playoffs and restarting?” said ESPN PK Subban analyst, who played 13 seasons in the NHL.
No team never wants to enter the playoffs on a cold sequence, but that’s exactly where the capital are. Now they will try to get rid of a first -round match against Montreal Canadians.
Tkachuks
Whether you see the Tkachuks as the heroes or the bad guys could depend on your national allegiance … or your political persuasion. But it is undeniable that the 4 nations of last February, the extremely successful NHL replacing the NHL for a star match, propelled the two brothers of hockey stars in real Stars.
The two Tkachuks – Matthew, Florida Panthers, and Brady, of the Ottawa Senators – were already big names in the world of hockey. And as a American with six appearances in the NHL stars’ stars between them, they were locks for the United States team.
The confrontation of the 4 nations began just a few weeks after the inauguration of President Trump. When the United States team went to Montreal to play in Canada, Canadian fans took an arena with hoots while the star banner was sung. And Matthew Tkachuk “did not like” as he said later, and when the washer hit the ice, he dropped his gloves to fight a Canadian player. Brady did the same for a few moments later. It was an electric moment for hockey. (The United States won this match, which was the most Olympic non-Olympic hockey match in the United States, but Canada had the last laugh when it won the final in overtime.)
Before the final, Matthew Tkachuk told ESPN that he considered 4 nations as more important than the Stanley Cup final of the previous year between his Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers, who had seven games. “Even by comparing it to the match last year, it seems bigger. It’s bigger than match 7,” he said.
For the two Tkachuk brothers, spring has been a bit of a comedown since then. Matthew underwent an injury to the lower body at the 4 nations event that put him away for the last 25 games. And Brady treated an injury that made him miss eight games.
But both should return to the playoffs. Matthew’s panthers open with a first -round match against his Floridian compatriots, the Tampa Bay Lightning. And the Senators of Brady will face the Toronto Maple Leafs in a “battle for Ontario”.
No matter the results, prepare to see them with Team USA next February at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.
Winnipeg jets celebrate a victory against New York Rangers last month. Winnipeg is a hockey city that has been suffering for a long time. But this year, the jets finished 56-22-4, the best record for hockey. And the pressure is on to deliver.
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Winnipeg’s first Stanley Cup?
Winnipeg is a hockey city that has been suffering for a long time.
The first iteration of his NHL team, the jets, played in town from 1979 to 1996 – and never won a Stanley Cup, or even passed after the second round of the playoffs. Then, the team exclaimed and moved to Arizona, and Winnipeg went without a NHL team until 2011. When the new version of the jets arrived in town, local fans were so hungry for a NHL team that fired for the home opening match went for $ 1000 or more.
However, this new version of the jets has not won a Stanley Cup either. And it is not because the team has been bad: they have reached the playoffs in seven of the last eight seasons.
This year, the jets finished 56-22-4, the best record for hockey. And the pressure is on to deliver. A simple appearance In the Stanley Cup final would be the best result in the history of the franchise, new or old.
A player namely: the hopes of the jets are largely based on the shoulders of goalkeeper Connor Hellebuyck, who leads the NHL in the two victories and the percentage of stops. No team has granted less goals all season than the jets. (Hellebuyck was another star of the United States team in the game of the 4 nations.)
“The kind of year he sewn together for himself this year is really, really, really impressive,” said Mark Messier, the six times champion of the Stanley Cup who is now an analyst for ESPN. “And it was not Hellebuyck. They played an excellent structure. They have an excellent score, a opportune score, a depth in position.”
